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Pic: Spink&Son/BNPS

Pictured: Michael Leigh-Mallory, left, with Spink & Son Specialist Gregory Edmond and the coin.

A metal detectorist is celebrating after a rare example of England's 'first ever gold coin' he discovered sold for a world record £648,000.

The King Henry III coin was struck in about 1257 by William of Gloucester with gold imported from North Africa.

It has been said by numismatists to show the first 'true' portrait of an English King upon his throne since the time of William the Conqueror.

The finder uncovered the treasure, one of just eight coins of this type known to exist, on farmland in Hemyock, Devon, last September.

It sparked a bidding war with London-based auctioneers Spink & Son, dwarfing its £400,000 pre-sale estimate.